“God bless his memory.”
That’s the comment Durant Commander Ray Arp made Monday as an American Civil War soldier who died on June 9, 1867, was honored in a special Veteran’s Day dedication ceremony in the Durant Cemetery early Monday morning.
Arp said he wondered what that day was like 157 years ago when Barr was buried toward the south center of the cemetery.
Roger Howe, commander of the state champion Durant American Legion Post 430 Color Guard, said his legion did not know about the grave of veteran William M. Barr, who died at the age of 25 and was buried with his parents, Thomas and Martha Barr, who died in 1888 and 1890 respectively.
According to a Sons of the American Revolution representative, Tony Townsend of Maryville, the Barr family farmed in Farmington Township in Cedar County (section 9) about five miles northwest of Durant on present day Vermont Avenue.
Barr was a member of the C Company in the Iowa 2nd Calvary, enlisting in August 1852 at the age of 20. Of that unit, 22 percent of the soldiers died or were wounded in battles, with 10 percent medically discharged due to wounds or disease.
In his speech Monday, Townsend said Barr was likely injured or fell ill in the war, possible when he fought in the Battle of Corinth on Oct. 2-4 1862, getting a medical discharge with a disability on March 22, 1863 before dying at the age of 25 in Durant on June 9, 1867. He was born in western Pennsylvania east of Pittsburgh in 1842. He said he was quickly thrown into battle once he enlisted.
Durant Post commander Ray Arp said Barr was finally going to be laid to rest after 157 years, although there was evidence the gravesite had been damaged by weather over the years, with “a lot of decayed stone” buried in the spot the new gravestone was placed two weeks ago by Townsend and Durant Legion members.
Townsend said it’s not an easy task convincing the Veteran’s Administration of the grave, noting he had to not only have cemetery records, but Civil War records. Once approved, the VA sent the 250-pound granite tombstone.
Townsend said the research on Barr was made possible through Roy and Linda Linn, who do research on Iowa Civil War veterans, as well as Mike Rowley from the Sons of the American Revolution.
He also praised the local wok of Carol Schlueter of the Durant Cemetery Board, Ray Alp of Post 430, color guard commander Roger Howe and Legion member Greg Feuerbach, who organized the installation of the headstone.
Every year, veterans are honored on Memorial Day, but Howe said Barr was going to have a special ceremony on Veteran’s Day.
Annual Memorial Day services organizer Greg Feuerbach of Walcott said post members first learned of the unmarked grave when Townsend asked the Legion for help at a September meeting.
They not only learned of Barr’s unmarked grave, but were given a list to check on other veterans who may have gotten lost in the cemetery through the years.
Townsend’s organization is affiliated with the Daughters of the American Revolution. The group uncovers unmarked gravesites of veterans throughout history. He said it’s the fourth gravestone replacement by the group, but the group has a lot of work yet to do with dozens on record to be found yet in Iowa.
The ceremony included a dedication of the new cemetery stone marking the grave, a gun salute, the playing of taps and a salute by the color guard. Howe and Arp unfolded an American flag that marked the grave for the ceremony before refolding it and presenting it as a surprise to Townsend for his work.
Fauerbach said the Legion was proud to take on the assignment, where Barr is buried with his parents to the south.
He said the Legion learned the Sons of American Revolution organization works at identifying unmarked gravesites of veterans and replaces missing or damaged markers.
Howe said his Legion has a new mission since his visit, recognizing a few missing veterans on the list they were provided for the Durant Cemetery. “We have to go through it and rectify the problem,” he said.
It was noted 400 veterans are buried among the nearly 5,000 graves in the Durant Cemetery on the southeast side of the city, the oldest a War of 1812 Veteran, Henry Allard (1792-1877). Allard served in the 11th US Infantry and captured three British spies while he also fought in the Battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, where Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner.”